1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of this invention relate generally to tiles, and more particularly to systems and methods for removing and replacing inserts within such tiles.
2. Description of Related Art
Tiles are commonly used in the construction industry on the surface of floors, walls and countertops of both commercial buildings and private homes. Tiles are also used to cover outdoor surfaces such as cement, walls, fountains, barbeques, fireplaces and countertops. Tiles may be formed in nearly any size and shape. Most commonly, tiles are formed in a square or rectangular shape from building materials such as stone, ceramic, composite, metal, porcelain, or plaster.
Tiles are typically attached to a surface such as floors and walls with adhesive building materials, such as mastic, grout, Thin Set®, mortar, or cement. Therefore, if a tile becomes worn or broken, the process to remove and replace the tile is difficult, particularly for the layman. The process necessarily involves breaking an adhesive to remove the tile and applying a new adhesive to secure a replacement tile. Often, the tile, surface, or surrounding tiles will be damaged or broken in the process.
In addition to functional purposes, tiles are also important for their decorative and aesthetic appeal. For example, tiles may be used to form a pattern on a kitchen or bathroom wall. Patterns may reflect colors, or a theme, designed to an occupant's preferences, or may be arranged in a collection of tiles to create a mural, picture or pattern. Unfortunately, if the occupant wishes to replace all or a portion of a tile, or mural, so as to form a different pattern, color or theme, the typical process again necessarily includes the breaking and application of adhesives and often results in the damage or breaking of the tile, surface or surrounding tiles. In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to have a system and method for installing tiles in which the decorative surface may be changed or altered in whole or in part without applying or breaking permanent or temporary adhesives. It is also desirable for such a method to utilize standard tile technology so an installer will be able to install the tile without the need for special or new skills, tools, or technologies that will alter or slow the tile laying process.
The following art defines the present state of this field:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,338 to Malavasi is directed to a preformed modular element for forming floor and wall coverings in combination with tiles and the like. The assembled modular elements define an array of regularly shaped cavities, each adapted to receive at least one tile. The cavities are preferably of a lesser depth than the tile thickness, thus resulting in an array of grooves between adjacent tiles, corresponding to the modular elements that separate the tiles and are depressed of the top faces thereof; finishing strips being received in the grooves of such a thickness to be flush with the tile top faces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,444 to Sanderson is directed to a changeable wall structure including a frame which removably holds a plurality of inner decorative panels having displays on one or both sides. A combination of a shelf, a shelf extension, and a support are selectively secured to the frame by mounting brackets. These brackets include upper, lower and intermediate support brackets which permit the support of panels in upper and lower positions, in intermediate positions, and in rearward positions and forward positions. Decorative panels are employed, and the forward or outer panels can partially or totally conceal one or more of the inner panels from view. Each decorative panel is preferably changeable and reversible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,784 to Hsu is directed to an integral picture frame with quick changeable flexible decoration part including an annular inner border portion with a inner convex surface, an annular intermediary protrusion portion and an annular outer border portion with an outer convex portion. A number of spaced first ribs formed on an outer surface of the annular inner border portion are attached to a first edge of a first annular flat seat at a lower part of each first rib and thereby defining a first compartment among each two first ribs and the first flat seat. A number of spaced second ribs formed on an inner surface of the annular outer border portion are attached to a first edge of a second annular flat seat at a lower part of each second rib and thereby defining a second compartment among each two second ribs and the second flat seat. Both edges of the annular intermediary protrusion portion respectively protrude upwardly from a second edge of the first annular flat seat and a second edge of the second annular seat and then centrally curved forming a convex surface. A flexible decoration part is changeably engaged onto a front side of the picture frame by means of deformation of two edges of the decoration part such that the deformation parts of two edges of the decoration part are respectively fitted into the first compartments and the second compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,488 to Evangelos et al. is directed to a new method for the installation of building tiles without any adhesive materials (fine grained sand and cement or glues) or joint fillers (e.g. stucco), directly onto a bare wall or floor without any prior preparation of the latter. This method shows substantial advantages and is implemented using frame-plates mountable onto the wall or floor and standardized tiles with engagement means, suitable to match corresponding engagement means of the frame plates. An illustrative view of the installation process with the frame plates and tiles of the invention is presented in FIG. 16.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,500 to McCue is directed to a decorative and protective structural tile matrix for covering a base surface, such as a wall or countertop. A set of tiles comprise a subset of fixed tiles and a subset of removable tiles. The fixed tiles are permanently attached to the base surface by an adhesive. The removable tiles each provide a precast flexible grout sleeve of an elastomeric material, such as a plastic or rubber compound. The sleeve conforms to, and extends around, at least a portion of a peripheral edge of the removable tile. Each of the removable tiles takes a position between the fixed tiles such that the sleeve is comprested between the peripheral edges of the fixed tiles and the removable tile. As such, a compressive force is generated for holding each removable tile in place on the base surface. Alternatively, the sleeve is fixed to the base surface and has an outwardly extending frame defining pockets for insertion of a number of removable tiles. The removable tiles are held in the pockets by compressive forces applied to the frame from each adjacent tile. In use, the removable tiles may be exchanged with alternate removable tiles, such that an area decorated by a first set of removable tiles can be quickly given a new decorative appearance by replacing the first set of removable tiles with a second, different set of removable tiles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,102 to Peyton is directed to a removable tile display including a decorative tile, a holder for the tile, and releasable adhesive for removably securing the back surface of the tile to the holder. The holder includes a cavity in which the decorative tile is positioned. Decorative tiles of various designs may be substituted within the holder as desired. The tile and holder combination may be permanently affixed to a wall or other planar surface, or they may be placed for vertical orientation within a tabletop support.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,289 to Quaglia et al. is directed to a flooring which can be locally removed and relaid rapidly any number of times, comprising a plurality of tiles (2), a plurality of plate-shaped supports (5) arranged quincuncially below the tiles (2), and means of fixing the tiles to the plate-shaped supports (5).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,218 to Lombardo is directed to a removable tile wall covering that includes a number of ceramic tiles held on the wall surface with disengageable-reengageable VELCRO fasteners. The wall covering is simple and inexpensive to install, and the tiles are easily removed for cleaning or redecoration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,023 to Saltzman et al. is directed to an article of furniture bearing a plurality of tiles on a top surface. A frame is disposed on the top surface for removably securing said tiles thereon. The frame comprises an external frame member surrounding and forming a border along the top surface, and an internal frame comprising a centrally disposed spine with a plurality of ribs extending outward from the spine at regularly spaced intervals. The internal frame is seated within the external frame and subdivides the area therein into a plurality of recesses. The tiles are removably seated within the recesses anywhere within the table top grid, and they can be rearranged on the surface within the recesses according to the whim of the user. Each tile bears a distinctive color or finish, and the user may arrange the tiles on the surface of the table according to his or her whim, for purposes of artistic expression, or purely for entertainment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,689 and International Patent Application No. PCT/US99/03122 to Scott et al. are directed to modular flooring systems and methods using at least one free-lay support module. The free-lay support module includes a baseplate and a frame member having a first arm and a second arm that meet and form an angle. Replaceable wear surface modules with or without a backing structure fit within the baseplate. The top of frame partially overlays the replaceable wear surface modules that may be carpet, carpet tile, vinyl flooring, wood flooring, wood parquet flooring or a variety of other materials. In still another embodiment, this invention provides for a free-lay support module that is self-contouring or self-leveling. In yet another embodiment this invention provides a replaceable wear surface modular flooring structure utilizing floor grid members having a “horizontal arm” and a “vertical arm”, each of which are in the form of an open U-shaped channel. A trim member has a decorative upper surface and any of a variety of cross-sectional shapes with downward facing members that engage the floor grid members providing a decorative and protective cap on the top of such grid members. In still another embodiment, power systems, communications systems, and/or cable systems reside within the channels.
International Patent Application No. PCT/US00/06268 to Scott et al. is directed to a free lay flooring system including a base matrix (12) for securing a replaceable wear surface (14) to a floor or subfloor. The base matrix includes a plurality of flooring recesses (16) sized to receive the replaceable wear surface. Ceramic tile, carpet, carpet tile, fabric, vinyl flooring and wood are a sample of materials suitable as the replaceable wear surface (14). When viewed from above, the base matrix (12) and replaceable wear surface (14) appear as a “grout-less” tile flooring structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,912 to Stegner et al. is directed to a tile flooring system composed of modular interlocking tiles. Each modular interlocking tile is adapted to be coupled to another modular interlocking tile. Each tile includes a body having a playing surface, two male interlocking sides, and two female interlocking sides. Each tile also includes an interlocking mechanism coupled to the male interlocking sides and the female interlocking sides. The interlocking mechanism is adapted to allow the modular interlocking tile to be connected to the another modular interlocking tile in a staggered fashion.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/133,699 to Vanderpol is directed to a removable tile mural assembly constructed in such a manner so as to appear to be a part of, or set into, a backsplash or tiled wall, but which is actually removable from the wall surface. The removable tile mural assembly comprises a substantially rigid base member to which is fixed on the front outer peripheral edge thereof a tile frame which defines a framed surface area. A tile mural comprising at least one tile is fixed to the front side of the base member within the defined framed surface area. Mounting means is provided for removably mounting the assembly to a wall surface. The tile mural may include rope lighting and/or the tile mural may be back-lighted.
The prior art described above teaches modular elements for covering floors and walls with tiles and the like, changeable wall panel structure, an integral picture frame with quick changeable flexible decoration part, a tile system, a removable tile display, tile flooring, a removable tile wall covering, tile-topped furniture with removable tiles, a modular tile and tile flooring system, modular flooring systems and methods, free lay ceramic tile flooring systems and methods, and a removable tile mural, but does not teach a tile with one or more inserts that may be removed, replaced and/or reused to change the appearance of a single tile, multiple tiles, a mural, a liner or a decorative scheme and that may also be used to add or hide functional elements on a surface.
Thus, there is a need for a technology where a tile can be laid in a field of tiles, or can be the entire field, where such tiles can be installed in the same manner as traditional tiles in which the decorative or functional surface elements of the tile may be altered without the need to damage the tile, the surface or the surrounding tiles or the need for any special tools, skills or technologies. Aspects of the present invention fulfill these needs and provide further related advantages as described in the following summary.